Only It was my first Lisa Gardner book. I chose to start with the DD Warren series because of the author’s youth. Sometimes reading an author’s first book can be great, but it can also turn you away from future talent. This was her seventh book, but the first in a new series. And what can I say, I liked it.

Lisa Gardner introduces us to sniper and state trooper Bobby Dodge after a long day that promises to be an endless chapter in his life. She knocks down a man pointing a gun at his wife with his finger on the trigger ready to fire. Did Catherine Gagnon manipulate you into killing her husband? Bobby shot for the wrong reasons?

The book explores the background of Catherine’s childhood, when she was kidnapped and held prisoner in an underground pit for twenty-eight days. It also explores Bobby’s family history, including a mother who left her father drunk and abusive of her without taking him or her brother. The reason why Catherine and Bobby are together makes this an entertaining suspense story.

Surprisingly, Bobby’s one-time partner DD Warren, for whom the mystery series is named, plays a minor role in the story. Bobby Dodge’s character seems to steal the show. We understand Bobby more and link him to Catherine through the police psychiatrist, who helps Bobby deal with taking his own life. As Catherine becomes a more likely suspect, Bobby understands her isolation and helps her discover why those around her are being killed.

If you like psychological mysteries with character-driven stories, this is a series that will keep you on your toes. In the second book, Hide, DD Warren plays a bigger role as a homicide detective, while Bobby is now a state police detective and no longer a sniper. As six bodies are discovered in a pit created to resemble Catherine Gagnon’s Children’s Prison, Bobby is invited to help on the case.

The perspective Lisa Gardner takes in this second book in the series is through the eyes of a woman, who has been hiding and changing her identity all her life. Her father kept her in the dark while moving her family from one place to another. Somehow, she’s connected to Catherine and the six bodies, and Mrs. Gardner weaves an interesting thread of clues to tie it all together.

I highly recommend this series and look forward to exploring more of Gardner’s writing. So far we know little about DD Warren, the series’ title character, and I hope he develops beyond the ambitious, impulsive and cantankerous counterpoint of Bobby Dodge.